PML-N supremo’s homecoming in next 2 months may polarize political landscape n Sharif’s return to Pakistan will be seen as a direct challenge to judiciary n Zardari opposes delay in elections n Tanvirul Hassan Gilani, Najam Sethi could be PPP, PML-N candidates for caretaker PM, respectively.

LAHORE   -  PML-N Quaid Mian Nawaz Sharif's anticipated home­coming in August or Septem­ber this year is being viewed as a significant political de­velopment as it is going to play a crucial role in shaping the future political discourse with repercussions on the upcoming general elections. 

The party leadership is up­beat about his return before the general vote and determined to make him country’s prime min­ister for the fourth time. In his previous three tenures as prime minister, Nawaz Sharif was not allowed to complete any of his terms. Now as the PML-N Quaid is set to return, a new enact­ment at home has already re­duced the disqualification of politicians to five years, besides allowing them the right to ap­peal against their conviction by the Supreme Court. For the time being, Mian Nawaz Sharif and IPP chief Jahangir Khan Tareen seem to be the only beneficia­ries of this legislation. 

Federal Finance Minister Ish­aq Dar has now officially con­firmed that Mian Nawaz Sharif would be returning in next two months and would be a party candidate for the office of prime minister. He told a news chan­nel the other day that there was no legal hurdle in the way for Nawaz Sharif to become prime minister for the fourth time af­ter the recent law passed by the Parliament. 

While the recent legislation by the Parliament has paved the way for Mr Sharif to run for the coveted office, there is still a long way to go before it actually happens. The PML-N’s decision about Nawaz Sharif to be the next prime minister has creat­ed a conflict of interest between the PML-N and the PPP as the latter is also keen to see Bila­wal Bhutto Zardari as the next prime minister. 

Political analysts believe that Nawaz Sharif’s bid to become prime minister for the fourth time may polarize the country’s political landscape in the com­ing days. Following the disman­tling of the PTI which had been a common political adversary of the PPP and the PML-N in the past five years, the political am­bitions of the two parties have undergone a significant change and soon they would be seen in­volved in tactics to grab maxi­mum power. 

The newly-formed IPP and the PML-Q are also vying for their share of the pie in the fast- changing political scenario. It merits mentioning here that the establishment has been seem­ingly instrumental in causing defections in the PTI and orches­trating a favourable situation for the IPP by persuading the dissi­dents to join the new party. 

In this background, Nawaz Sharif’s visit to Saudi Arabia and his planned meeting with the royal family is also being in­terpreted as part of the plan to make him a candidate for the top office for the fourth time. PML-N sources revealed that Mian Nawaz Sharif would try to seek commitments from Sau­di rulers about their support to help revive the country’s dwin­dling economy in the coming years. This will enable Nawaz Sharif to boost his credentials as the future prime minister, said the sources. 

Also, the pre-Eid huddles held in Dubai between the top lead­ership of the two mainstream political parties have put Mian Nawaz Sharif in the driving seat to negotiate the future shape of things with the major stakeholders. The PPP supre­mo Asif Ali Zardari and Mian Nawaz Sharif are said to have agreed over a broad outline of the interim setup, the subse­quent elections and the seat adjustments. Sources privy to the Dubai meetings divulged that the two leaders pondered over a few names for the care­taker prime minister. While the PPP has put forward the name of Tanvirul Hassan Gilani, the PML-N pushed for Najam Sethi to head the caretaker set­up. Sethi has already served as caretaker Punjab chief during 2013 general elections. Tan­virul Hassan Gilani is a former MNA and ex-federal minister who happens to be first cousin of former Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani. Tanvir is no longer active in politics for the last 25 years. Senior journalist Mohsin Baig’s name was also discussed in the meeting as the nominee of the powers that be, said the sources. 

During discussion on the upcoming elections, Asif Ali Zardari opposed any delay in the electoral process and as­serted that the election should take place within the stipulated time frame. Under the new leg­islation, however, the Election Commission of Pakistan has been authorized to announce a precise date for the elections. 

Commenting on Nawaz Shar­if’s anticipated return, a PML-N leader said that it was aimed at mobilizing the party and gal­vanizing his supporters. By re­turning to Pakistan, he wants to rejuvenate the party cadres and demonstrate his commitment to his political agenda, he said.